VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, left, greets her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va., Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2011 after Gaeta's ship returned from 80 days at sea. A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when the two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after Gaeta returned from 80 days at sea. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Brian J. Clark) MAGS OUT (Brian J. Clark/The Virginian-Pil/via AP)

"It's nice to be able to be myself. It's been a long time coming."There was little to differentiate this kiss from countless others when a Navy ship pulls into its home port following a deployment. Neither the Navy nor the couple tried to draw special attention to what was happening and many onlookers waiting for their loved ones to come off the ship were busy talking among themselves.

Snell smiled as she approached Gaeta and they briefly embraced as a small contingent of local television crews and photographers, who were unaware about what was going to happen until moments earlier, captured the scene.

"She told me about the first kiss a couple of days ago and I kind of freaked out — in a good way — but of course I'm a little nervous, you know. But I've been waiting since she left," Snell said.

David Bauer, the commanding officer of the USS Oak Hill, said that Gaeta and Snell's kiss would largely be a non-event and the crew's reaction upon learning who was selected to have the first kiss was positive.

"It's going to happen and the crew's going to enjoy it. We're going to move on and it won't overshadow the great things that this crew has accomplished over the past three months," Bauer said.

The ship returned to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story following an 80-day deployment to Central America. The crew of more than 300 participated in exercises involving the militaries of Honduras, Guatemala Colombia and Panama as part of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2012.

Both women are Navy fire controlmen, who maintain and operate weapons systems on ships. They met as roommates at training school and have been dating for two years, which they said was difficult under "don't ask, don't tell."

Repeal of the 18-year-old legal provision, under which gays could serve as long as they didn't openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, took effect in September.